The partnership will target the regions of Southern Mindanao and Southern Leyte in the Philippines and Amurang in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province.
The countries are the world’s biggest coconut producers and exporters. Farmers there are mostly smallholders and tenants cultivating less than four hectares of land, and seldom collaborate into functioning groups and cooperatives.
As a result of this lack of organisation there are little or no economise of scale. This, along with a lack of financing and training resources, and a rigid supply chain, leads farmers to be dependent on middle men, the companies said in a statement.
The main goal of the partnership, which also features chemical major BASF and GIZ, a development agency, is to increase farmers’ incomes and self-sufficiency by improving the productivity of their farms.
“This will be achieved through training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), intercropping and enhanced farm management skills, and the strengthening of farmer groups,” they said, adding that some 3,000 smallholders in the Philippines and 300 in Indonesia will benefit from the programme.
Of these, around 800 farmers will receive additional training on the Sustainable Agriculture Network standards before they can apply apply for Rainforest Alliance certification. The partnership also plans to establish a chain of custody for certified material to help increase transparency along the supply chain.
Cargill, which owns and operates copra-buying stations and crushing plants, will provide training and set up the structures for certification. The crude and refined oil produced by Cargill will then be further processed by BASF and P&G for home, personal care and nutrition ingredients.
As well as steering the project and managing it on the ground, GIZ will provide expertise in capacity building and implementing GAP and sustainability standards.